International warnings continue to mount over a dangerous escalation in Israeli occupation policies toward the Palestinian territories, amid what the UN Special Rapporteur on human rights in the Occupied Palestinian Territory has described as systematic plans to annex the occupied West Bank, in blatant violation of international law and international legitimacy resolutions.

The UN rapporteur, Francesca Albanese, affirmed that Israel is not targeting land alone, but is seeking to impose a new reality based on “annexing the land without the people,” in a clear attempt to eliminate the Palestinian presence and deprive Palestinians of their historical and legal rights—foremost among them their inalienable right to self-determination and the liberation of their occupied land.

She stressed that the Palestinian people enjoy the full range of rights guaranteed under international law, and that any unilateral measures to impose Israeli sovereignty over occupied territories are null and void, illegal, and constitute an ongoing crime against Palestinians in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip.

In this context, the UN rapporteur criticized reliance on statements of condemnation alone, considering them no longer sufficient in light of the scale and gravity of Israel’s continued violations. She called on the international community to take practical and tangible steps to hold Israel accountable and to halt its policies of annexation, settlement expansion, and collective punishment.

These warnings come at a time of escalating Israeli violations against Palestinians, amid growing fears of entrenching the reality of occupation by force and undermining any prospects for achieving justice and peace based on respect for rights and international law.